The Flavors of Life
by terra hotaru
Summary: Birthday giftfic for Tinuleaf. The man was a master chef. The boy thought that cooking was a waste of time. Two very different individuals with conflicting opinions. However, it was only the beginning of something more. AkuRoku.
1. The Chef

**Dedication: **For **Tinuleaf's **birthday**. **Happy Birthday! X3 Hope ya have a good one! ...I haven't talked to you for a century long! –cries-

Lol, this is a really early birthday gift. : D but I might as well, since I guess I might be really busy when the fall semester starts.

This! Is a sign that I've watched a lot of Food Network and has been cooking recently. Lawlz. And I guess you could say that this is inspired by **Julie and Julia** too.

**The Flavors of Life**

**Chapter 1**

**The Chef**

"And you mix half a pound of beef into the pan! Now, you have to watch it really, really close. See that it's pink right there? When it's done, the pink shouldn't be there!"

The audience laughed, watching the redhead that was performing at the cooking station that was set on the stage. Hundreds of audiences were gathered there, glued in their seat to watch that one man, chirping wildly in front of the whole stadium, teaching them how to cook.

"See, that's why I said cooking is like magic! You have to cook and sauté the minced beef for roughly around ten to fifteen minutes. But of course, as I usually say, there is no need to go get the timer or look at the clock at all!" the man grabbed the timer that was set on the counter and threw it behind him. A loud clunk could be heard echoing across the silence of the room. He grinned, stretching his arms wildly. "All you have to do is use your feelings! Your instinct! Use your soul and cook!"

A blond boy, who happened to switch on to the cooking channel, watching the man live, squinted his eyes and scoffed. "This guy's whacked..." he frowned. "What _is_ this show?"

In the other part of the world, the redhead was cooking passionately, smirking all the while, having fun even when he was sweating under the stare of his audiences and because of the heat of the kitchen. His hair was hidden inside his chef hat, but strands of red hair could be seen sticking out here and there. It was a wonder that his hat didn't fall off.

"So, when it is turning a little brown, flip it again and again, press it. After that, add in a salt and pepper to your taste. Then... all you can do is wait! When you're done..." the redhead muttered, bending down to take the prepared beef. "This is the result. Wonderfully done and well cooked. Remember, no one wants to eat raw meat. Unless they're cannibalistic of course, but then again, some even cook."

The blond boy narrowed his eyes. "Oh...kay?" his face showed a look of confusion and disbelieve, eyes wide.

"Ok, let's put the beef aside. And take out the salsa that we set in the fridge just now. Put the fresh salsa on top of the meat and then, some cilantro to bring out the smell and flavor."

The blond boy showed a look of disgust now. "Cilantro... ew..."

"So, what do you do if you don't like cilantros? Simple, take it, and throw it away! Don't use it at all!" the redhead grinned as he took the cilantro he had previously put and threw it in the nearest garbage can. "No one is forcing you to put it in."

"Huh..." by now, the boy was nodding and the audiences muttered a small 'o'.

"And of course, the angel hair spaghetti. Drain and fork it to the plate. Place the spaghetti around the beef so that it looks appealing and beautiful. Add the previously heated spaghetti sauce on top of the noodles. And there it is. Your easy to make dinner spaghetti. If you're a vegetarian or if you don't have any meat in your refrigerator, then it's even easier. Use sautéd potato, broccoli, carrot, and any kind of vegetables you have in your fridge, season them well and arrange them as substitutes for beef. The salsa already has flavor by itself, so there is no need to tinker with them," the redhead said thoughtfully, smiling all the way, staring at his audiences, making small gestures.

The blond boy flicked the channel away, still blinking his eyes, looking around him, feeling rather weird. Then, he settled into his couch, sitting Indian style, watching "Family Guy." His face was plastered with an expression of boredom the whole hour he was watching said show.

--

There was nothing much to say about his life. He worked, went to the university, he was home, he cooked, he ate, he did his homework, he watched TV, and he slept. That basically summed up what he was doing on a daily basis. Being a home person, Roxas hardly went out or socialize. Sure, he used to have friends, but as he became busier and busier, he started to ignore them, never calling them, or even reply to their messages on the internet. He just got bored, thinking that there was no use for him to keep in contact with friends who lived far away from him anyway.

Hayner used to be his best friend in college, but he transferred to a University far from where Roxas attended. Pence moved away to another country because of his dad's business. Olette enrolled in a prestigious university out of town.

Roxas also moved out of his hometown, pursuing his study in a foreign country. He rented a room and he had to work in order to pay for his own living. His parents took care of his tuition fee, but the rest, he had to work for it. And hence, with only money and university in his head, Roxas hardly went out of his way to socialize or even to seek entertainment. There was no need to. Study came first, work second, everything else later.

Needless to say, however boring it was, he was content with his life.

He cooked, but all that he cooked was easy instant prepare meals. He was too busy to really cook or even go to buy his ingredients. He frequently searched for sales in the supermarket for any kind of fast food that he could eat. Spaghetti meatballs in a box, chicken bake, chicken nugget, hamburgers, burritos, taquitos... life was easy these days. Just toss those fast foods in the microwave or oven and voila, everything was done and it was time to eat.

He certainly knew that he was leading a very unhealthy life style. However, until he had time, he seriously didn't have any other choice. And he wasn't thinking about changing his lifestyle either. It was such a hassle to change.

--

The City was crowded as usual on the weekend. Roxas had no choice but to go out since he needed to buy his supplies. He always dashed through the convenience market, only grabbing the stuff he needed. There was no need to stop by at the section that didn't contain what he needed. And he had memorized every last one of the section in that supermarket and what they contained.

His eyes darted through the racks of products and his hand accurately grabbed a bottle of the cheapest shampoo. The day's budget was to spend no more than twenty bucks. He grabbed a couple boxes of fast food that was on sale, a tooth brush, a bottle of hair gel, and a tooth paste.

When he got rid of everything in his checklist, he was ready to checkout. However, he bumped into... no someone _bumped_ into him. Roxas was caught completely off guard and he landed on the floor on his bottom. "Hey!" he snapped. "Watch where you're going," he spat, looking up to see the person who had bumped into him.

"Sorry."

All Roxas could see was a wide grin. The person—definitely male from that lean built—was wearing a cap that concealed his hair. And the cap person in front of him had a really well-built face. The blond frowned. "That's it?" he narrowed his eyes in annoyance.

Cap person grinned brightly, waving his hand in a friendly gesture. "I sincerely apologize, my little friend. Here, let me lend you a hand," he smirked, offering his hand to the blond.

Roxas groaned and slapped the hand away. "_Thanks_," he replied, voice laced with sarcasm.

Cap-person's jaw dropped. "Hey, I'm being friendly."

"Yeah...right," the blond replied sarcastically, rolling his eyes, annoyed and upset.

Then, cap-person frowned. "You... eat those junk?" he pointed his index finger to the boy's basket.

Roxas' eyes grew smaller and smaller until they turned into mere slits. "Yeah, I eat these junk. I'm basically a garbage can. I stomach everything, okay? Now, back off!" he reprimanded, hissing.

"Whoa, hey. Sorry. I didn't mean it like that."

Roxas was walking away. He had wasted enough time and all he wanted then was just to check his groceries out and get the hell away from the cap-person. He was getting more and more annoyed when said cap-person was following him.

"_What_ do you need from me?"

"Those are unhealthy. They're filled with saturated fat which will..."

"I know what saturated fat is and I can read the health information just fine, thank you. Now, stay away before I shout for help."

"Why are you so feisty?" cap-person smiled a friendly smile.

"One..."

"Can't we be friends? I can teach you a thing or two..."

"Two..."

"Hey, we can even talk or something and..."

"Three, alright. I've given you your chances..." the blond hissed, taking in a deep breath, about to scream for help.

"Okay, okay. Bye!" cap-person ran away, knowing that the blond was serious.

Roxas heaved a sigh of relieve.

Finally...

He hated how he always met psychos when he was outside. That was also one of the main reasons why he preferred to cage himself up in his room when he had some free time.

--

Placing a chicken bake into the microwave and setting it to four minutes, the blond quickly ran into his room, grabbed his blue towel and jumped into the bathroom for a quick, refreshing shower.

He was done at the same time the microwave started beeping, calling him, saying that the food was done. Slipping into his sleeveless T's, he went out of the bathroom and ran over to the kitchen to grab his chicken bake.

He picked it up with the plastic plate and headed back to his room.

--

Switching on his TV, he accidentally flicked to the food channel again. And coincidentally, the same redhead was on show again. He was about to switch to another channel, but he stopped, not knowing why.

"_We're going to cook a super easy meal today. All you need is two potatoes, three eggs, and pepper and salt. It will only take you fifteen minutes to prepare this meal. Alright, let's get started!" _the redhead on the TV chirped excitedly.

"Yeah, sure..." Roxas scratched the back of his neck tiredly. Then, he flicked over to another channel. Not really caring. He just needed some noise just so that he could sleep. It was merely nine, but he felt like sleeping early to heal his tired body.

He felt like he was already in his fifties sometimes...

--

The week after, Roxas had to again, go to Safeway to shop. Since Safeway was really his favorite place to shop and save. He had to take the bus for twenty minutes in order to get to Target. And he didn't like Walmart. So, Safeway was his only place to go which took around twenty five minutes walking.

More junk food, more varieties, more time saved. That had become a sort of Roxas' motto.

And then...more psychos.

Wait, that was the same psycho from before.

The cap-person... cap-man.

Roxas immediately turned one eighty degrees as soon as he saw that person, walking briskly away, hoping that he could go unnoticed. He didn't want any freaks in his life.

"Hey you!" there was a loud voice.

Roxas' eyes went wide, hoping that whoever it was didn't just call for him.

He began to run, carrying his basket.

"Wait!"

But Roxas wasn't quick enough, because he ended up being grabbed by the shoulder.

"I've been waiting for you!"

"Huh?" Roxas choked, turning and slowly backing away, eyes wide. His internal radar was screaming _'Psycho, run!'_

"Oh, I have some very easy recipes that will take you no time to prepare. Here!" cap-man grinned, as if it was the most normal thing to do.

"I'm sorry, but I don't do cooking," Roxas tried, being polite.

"Trust me, it's easy!"

"...Why?"

Cap-man easily pointed his index finger at Roxas' basket which was filled with canned and fast foods.

"But why me?" the blond frowned, wondering if he should trust cap-man or not.

The cap-man took Roxas' unoccupied hand and put a neatly folded piece of paper in his palm. Then cap-man grinned brightly. "Tell me how it goes, yeah?"

Roxas watched as the weird man walked away, blinking a couple of times before shifting his attention towards the piece of paper in his palm. "Tell you? How?" he muttered.

Then, he put down his basket and opened the paper. There was a recipe for potato egg written down and a phone number and a little smiley face beside it.

Roxas sighed, but he smiled then. "So... I'll need an egg... and potato...and...salt and pepper. Why do these ingredients felt awkwardly familiar?"

Shrugging, he went over to the fresh food section.

--

Hope I started this out alright. Potato egg is my mom's signature dish. X3 hehe. She used to cook it and I love it so much that I began cooking it myself. It's the first dish that I've ever cooked and succeeded. Lawlz. And trust me, it takes a lot for me to be able to pull of a dish correctly. Sorry, I rambled.

Happy birthday, Tinu! Um, in two months? Hehe. :3

Love.


	2. Improvement

**Dedication: Tinuleaf. **Birthday birthday! Party Party! –shot-

**Special Thanks: **To **Insanecat6** for pointing some things out! Lawlz. Keep pointing things out, yeah! xD haha. You're cool! To **FinalFallenFantasy**. Okay, that was totally my bad! xD I'm really glad you caught it. I'm still beating myself up over it. –kicked- o_O let's just keep it between us, yo! –runs- then, **Cirque du Lune** for also pointing some facts out! **Lifes. Lover **he he... grammatical mistakes. –dies-

Enjoy!

**The Flavors of Life**

**Chapter 2**

**Improvement**

There were, of course, doubts when Roxas was about to cook the ingredients as directed in the piece of paper. He stood there, staring at the potato and a carton worth of a dozen eggs that was set on the kitchen counter. He stood there for long, just looking at those... things... that were already out of the plastic bag and was sitting there lazily, staring back at him dully.

He pouted for a bit.

Should he really cook? He narrowed his eyes, still in a lot of doubts. Should he? What if the psycho drugged the potatoes and the eggs? Like...like...drugs that would make him fall crazily in love with said cap-man. Or even worse, _poisons_! And then, when he died, cap-man would come over to his house and dragged his body to the woods and... Eeep!!! No way!

Roxas didn't have the nerve to think any further. Groaning and overwhelmed in fear, he walked out of his kitchen. Looking around carefully, cerulean eyes darting around every single opening and area they could see. Did cap-man follow his home? What if he was killed in his sleep? What if... what if...

Oh, how Roxas wished that he should have reported cap-man to the police. Now, the psycho was running around in his neighborhood. There was no way that he could feel safe anymore living there.

Standing for a while again, lost in his thoughts, he finally went back to his kitchen, again, staring at those ingredients. He took the pan that was hanging on the nail, a shared pan that he could use, so did three of his other roommates. He heaved a sigh.

"Okay..." Then he growled. "Great, he forgot to write _vegetable oil_ in the ingredient list."

"Yo, Rox. What you doing?"

Roxas raised his eyebrows, never thinking that Demyx would remember his name. "Just...cooking."

"Oh, nice. This is the first time I actually see you standing in the kitchen for more than one minute," the taller male grinned brightly.

"Oh, Demyx. Think I can borrow your vegetable oil?"

"Sure little dude. Feel free to use it. 's all yours," Demyx replied cheerily, walking into his room.

"Thanks," Roxas smiled.

--

"...the potatoes are not cooked..." the blond took in a deep breath while he settled himself down on his bed, holding his plate of potato egg. "...and it's...oily..." he heaved a breathy sigh. "Such a failure..." he sighed again, forking a potato, seemingly killing it for his own personal satisfaction—some kind of revenge maybe. He switched on the TV.

And lo and behold. The redhead's show.

Roxas was about to choke.

This time, without even waiting, he switched the channel.

He knew he was a failure in cooking. He didn't need to be reminded of it by watching the food channel. It would only make him feel bad all night.

Fast and canned foods were definitely the way to go.

Moving on...

--

Two weeks later, shopping time. Roxas had successfully avoided Safeway the last week. What if the psycho decided to wait for him again? That would be mighty bad. He sure didn't want to meet the cap-man again. Who knew what the cap-man's attention was. He had to be careful in this time of day.

He took in a deep breath as he saw the Safeway sign in front of him. He prayed to all the things above that the cap-man wasn't in there.

As he scanned through the sections carefully, he was glad that he found no one of that sort. Then, he started grabbing the things he needed and stormed out of the store after checking out.

"Hey, let me carry that for you."

Roxas jumped back and screamed as two of his plastic bags were snatched away from his hand. "What are you doing, you _freak?!_"

"You never called. How did it go?" the cap-man was so enthusiastic that Roxas couldn't hold his anger that long.

In fact, the blond was already laced with guilt. Did the cap-man truly have a good intention? Should he trust him?

Those emerald eyes were staring at him, asking for answers in the very gentlest way.

Roxas swallowed before answering, anger all gone. "It was... well... I'm sorry I didn't call. I was busy."

"Nah, it's ok. Forget about that," cap-man shrugged it off, waving his hand—making a gesture that said 'it's nothing.' "How was the recipe? How was your cooking?"

"Uhm..."

Cap-man narrowed his eyes. "You _did_ cook, didn't you?" he asked, being suspicious.

"I did!" Roxas snapped, pouting. "But it was too oily and the potato wasn't cooked! I quit cooking, okay? Give it up!" he stomped his foot angrily to the ground.

"You're giving up? Just like that?" cap-man asked, disappointment was obvious in his voice.

"Yes, just like that. Because I honestly have no interest in cooking at all. Don't force it on me," Roxas frowned, gritting his teeth together.

"Why?"

"It wastes my time."

"But it saves you money. And no, cooking saves your time," cap-man spoke, serious and grim.

"Huh?"

"Your life itself in this world will only get shortened if you continue to garbage yourself with those junk."

"..."

"I'm serious."

Roxas merely stared at the man, unable to retort with anything.

"What's the point of working so hard when you'll only die early?"

"Hey, just because I eat these, doesn't mean I'll die that soon, okay? It's my life. None of it is your business, weirdo."

"..."

"Gimme back my groceries," the blond snapped, snatching the plastics bags from the redhead's hand and walked away, not even looking back once.

--

Roxas had an afternoon shift that day and he couldn't concentrate. Cap-man's words kept ringing in his ears and echoing in his head. And he was slumped, resting his head like a dead boy on the clerk counter. There was no customer at the moment. And even though he was not allowed to do so, he felt like he didn't have the energy to even stand up straight.

...What was the point of him saving money if he was going to die soon? All those saturated fat and sodium would kill him one day. There was no doubt about it.

He breathed out a sigh.

--

There was a ruckus as soon as Roxas reached his room. The room was turned upside down and the blond kept searching around for something. Not really caring about the mess he had made and had to clean up.

"Where is that..." he muttered, eyes darting around every corner of the room. He couldn't find it, it was gone! He remembered putting it somewhere in his room... but he had searched all over and there was nothing.

His eyes went wide suddenly. Wait, he didn't put it in his room, it should still be outside, on the kitchen's counter...

And it was.

He immediately grabbed the piece of crumpled paper and ran back to his room. Holding his cell phone close, he had a stare off with the writings on the paper. The numbers were taunting him. To call... or not...

He took in a deep breath, cheeks blowing up like a blowfish.

He looked around, as if suspicious that if he called, cap-man would show up out of nowhere in his room.

--

"Alright, Axel. Rea..."

_Ring!!!_

"Whoops..." Axel grinned brightly, scratching the back of his head, apologizing to the camera man.

"Axel, we have to start soon."

"Give me a minute. Put on some commercials? I'll be right back!"

The camera man groaned.

Axel ran to the back of the stage and picked up his phone. "Hello?"

"Uhm.. hi, are you the... cap-man?" a timid voice could be heard from the other side of the phone.

Axel's eyes went wide for a bit before he burst out laughing. "Ah, you're so cute..." he mumbled, shaking his head a bit, wiping the tears from his eye.

"Excuse me?"

"You're excused."

The camera man was waving at Axel now, gesturing that he had better get on stage or...else.

"Hey, little friend. I have to go. I'll call you back half an hour later, will that be okay with you?"

"Sure."

"Great. Bye, little friend!"

--

Roxas stared blankly at his phone. Little friend? What the heck...

But Roxas wasn't about to give up his name. Not when he didn't even know the psychopath's name. Fair enough. He would call him cap-man and cap-man would call him little friend.

It irked Roxas though.

But he didn't have the intention to make a big deal out of it.

--

"Hey, I'm sorry about that just now," the redhead grinned goofily. His clothes were already changed and he was settling down at the back of the studio.

"It's no problem?"

"So, what's up?"

"Huh?"

"Well, you called me... so, I guess you have something to say?" Axel inquired carefully. He knew that the boy had temper and he sure didn't want to tamper around with that temper.

Roxas licked his dried lips nervously. "I... teach me how to cook."

"Seriously?" the redhead replied brightly, thinking that his phone was somehow messing with him.

"Yeah... I've thought about it. And maybe... since... well, I wanna ask for your help in this."

"Well, you've found the right person! I'll definitely help you out!"

Roxas blinked at the enthusiastic voice. "...what should I do?"

"What if I meet you again at the same supermarket tomorrow?"

There was a pause. "...sure, I guess?"

"You don't trust me, huh?" the redhead laughed.

"Honestly? No, not at all?"

"Well, you might wanna bring some weapons for protection to keep me in bay."

"Isn't that against the law? But sure, I'll take you up for it."

The redhead smirked.

"Tomorrow at two. I'm free."

"That sounds good to me. Don't keep me waiting."

"Sure," Roxas replied lazily, rolling his eyes.

There was another silence between them before Roxas spoke up. "It's getting pretty late."

"Ah yeah, definitely. I'll see you tomorrow then."

"Sure. Good night, cap-man."

Axel laughed brightly. "That makes me feel like a superhero."

Roxas laughed and shrugged it off. "Bye."

"Night."

The blond closed the lid of his phone, looking around his lightly lit room. He jumped out of his bed and threw his phone gently on the desk before slipping into his home-shoe. Dragging his feet lazily, he walked out of his room and flicked on the light to the kitchen. He ruffled his messy hair before he opened the fridge and he cringed in disgust, taking one of the boxes of frozen foods there.

He looked at the nutrition information, shivering a bit. "Eighty eight percent sodium... forty two percent saturated fat..." he mumbled.

Taking in a deep breath, he took out all the frozen foods that he kept there. Hesitating a bit, he finally threw them all into the garbage can where they belonged.

And he smiled, going back to his bedroom without a single pang of guilt.

He just hoped that he would be able to last long with his decision. He had just threw away ten meals and ten dollars worth of food there.

He shrugged.

Anything for a longer life...

--

Hope you enjoyed. X3

Thank you so much for all the input! I really appreciate it!

I love you all!!!

Love.


	3. Spending Time

**Dedication: Tinuleaf.**

Enjoy!

**The Flavors of Life**

**Chapter 3**

**Spending Time**

Roxas immediately went over to Safeway as soon as he was out of his shift. He was half an hour late because he had to stay for a while. The store was cramped with customers that day because there was a huge sale in the electronic section. He was happy that he brought his skateboard that day. It certainly saved him ten minutes. He rarely used his skateboard because it was hard for him to skateboard while carrying plastic bags of groceries at the same time.

When he reached safeway, it was already 02:42. He wondered if Cap-man was still there. He doubted it yet at the same time not. If Cap-man was willing to wait for him there everyday like a stalker, then forty minutes—well, forty two should mean nothing.

And he was right.

Cap-man was there, browsing at the food section with a cart full of products. Roxas ran over, carrying his skateboard. "I'm so sorry," he apologized, bowing and panting at the same time.

Cap-man grinned. "What's your excuse? I might forgive you," he said while picking up a carton of heavy whipping cream and looking at its nutrition info.

"I was caught up at work. It was a busy day."

"I see." Cap-man put down the whipping cream in the cart and leaned against the handle, relaxed, grinning. "Fair enough. Nice to meet you!"

"Uh.. huh?" Roxas smiled awkwardly, blinking a couple of times.

Cap-man laughed happily. "Alright, let's get started. For the last..." he pulled up his wrist and looked at his wristwatch. "Forty four minutes that I waited for you, I've picked up some groceries. Healthy foods. Fresh vegetables. Nothing is frozen. Nothing is fast. Nothing is cooked."

Roxas groaned.

Cap-man was happy with the reaction. "You'll get use to it, buddy," he gently put a hand on the blond's shoulder. "Let's go get some fresh milk and meat. We don't have all day." He pushed the cart and Roxas followed beside him.

They walked at a slow, peaceful pace. Nothing was spoken between them.

"Oh yeah, what don't you have in your place, little friend?"

Roxas cringed from the name. "... everything?"

Cap-man frowned in disbelieve. "Let's...make it easier. What _do_ you have?"

"I only have the salt and pepper from yesterday. Other than that, cooking utensils are shared," Roxas answered easily, later regretting that he had given so much information to a total stranger.

"Oh, what kind of house are you living in?"

"I'm just renting a room. It's twenty five minutes walking from here."

"Wow... Just... how old are you, kid?"

"Twenty... turning... twenty-one pretty soon, cap-man," the blond answered dully, not really having any desire to put much emotions into it. He didn't know if he should feel good that everyone thought he was merely around fourteen or so or feel bad about it because he was definitely much older. Sometimes, a kind bus driver even said that he should have paid less money because it was cheaper for kids under 18. Or that he had mistaken and paid adults' fees.

"Wow..." Cap-man looked at the blond in disbelieve. "Wow..." he shook his head. "Really?" he gasped.

"Yes, now... Moving on," Roxas narrowed his eyes, walking ahead of Cap-man.

Cap-man laughed. "Hey, I didn't mean anything bad, really. I'm... say... kinda happy that you're at least an adult."

"Uh-huh... yeah," Roxas nodded.

"You're a funny little dude."

--

Roxas honestly had no idea how the man had even gotten inside his house. It just... sort of happened. Who knew that Cap-man had a car? And it was a nice car—not some beat up old car... he had even driven him home and somehow, Roxas had agreed that he should invite cap-man inside and he did. And now, the psycho was roaming around his house—it was not even his house. It was a house he was renting a room in.

But of course, nobody was home as usual. All his other roommates were busy. Hence, there was hardly anyone around during the day or even the night... the night was usually really quiet.

"This is a nice place. Where do I put all these?"

And who knew that Cap-man would even go as far as to pay all the groceries for him. Roxas was worried at first on how he would be able to pay for all those ingredients. But Cap-man had told him not to worry.

"The kitchen," the blond answered shortly, leading Cap-man into the kitchen. "Just leave them on the counter there," he pointed. After that, he went inside his room to put his skateboard back in the closet. He gasped when he turned and the man was already so close to him.

"Neat!"

"Please, do not come inside my room. I would really appreciate that." The blond stuck out his tongue, pushing the man out of the door and shutting it. "Are you going to leave?" he asked.

"Now, that's rude!" Cap-man frowned deeply, feinting hurt.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that. It's just that I'm not allowed to bring friends around."

"Oh, is that so? Okay then. I wouldn't be a bother."

"No wait... since there's no one here, I guess it's okay," Roxas whispered, feeling kinda bad. After all, the cap-man had been nice to him all day. He certainly didn't deserve being treated that way.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah."

"Alright then. That means that I can teach you to cook!" Cap-man chirped happily, walking over to the kitchen.

Roxas smiled, shaking his head watching the man's behavior.

Cap-man suddenly paused. "You threw all your frozen foods away?" he raised his eyebrows.

"Yes, apparently so." Roxas nodded.

"Such a good boy! I'm so proud of you!"

The blond blushed for a bit. "Hey, stop treating me like a kid!"

"You are! You're like a little brother that I always wanted."

"And you're like a dad that I never wanted," Roxas stuck his tongue out again.

"Huh?" Cap-man raised his eyebrows, being curious.

"Just some bad memories. Don't worry about it."

"Oh, a bad father?"

"Pretty much, yeah." The blond shrugged the topic off. "Are you going to take your hat off?" he smiled.

Cap-man narrowed his eyes, mouth opened wide, staring at the blond in front of him blankly. "Uh... no," he shook his head dumbly. "I..." he looked up to the ceiling as if the ceiling would miraculously form up some words for him to completely avoid the blond's question. "This cap... means a lot to me..." he sniffed, mocking hurt. "This...this cap... it's from...someone very dear..." he looked away, hoping that the blond would buy it.

"Oh... I'm sorry..." Roxas blinked, hanging his head low.

"Yeah... you see... so I've promised that I will wear... this cap whenever I'm outside of my house. That's why... I can't..." It was Axel's turn to feel bad.

"I understand... not even when the heat is this bad?" the blond tilted his head to the side.

"No," Cap-man shook his head. He felt like his heart had stopped beating for lying to someone like his little friend dude. "I... have to keep my promise!" he grinned.

"I see. That's nice to hear," Roxas smiled.

Axel flushed.

--

"Do you really only microwave frozen food to eat?"

Roxas seemed to be thinking while he was washing vegetables. "No, not really. I made some spaghetti once in a while too. But it was a long time ago. I'm just too busy."

"No, you're not. See, you've spent two hours with me without chasing me away," Cap-man grinned, pointing out his proof.

"I suppose.. yeah... maybe it's just an excuse for my lazy-ness." Roxas shrugged.

"What do you feel like eating tonight?"

"I don't know... anything?" the blond laughed it off awkwardly. He never had to think about what to cook before.

"Well, you have to decide, young man! Because this evening, you're going to cook for me."

Roxas' jaw dropped. "I... _what?!_"

"Well, of course. Do you expect a guess to be cooking for you?" cap-man countered smartly.

Roxas pouted and growled. "Fine. What do we have?"

Axel laughed. "You're funny, little dude! We have everything you'll need!"

Roxas groaned again. "Can we just take up what I've thrown in the garbage can and have them for dinner?"

"Are you serious?"

"Dead Serious."

"..."

"Okay, let's see..." Roxas said thoughtfully, putting a hand at his chin. "Chicken... potato?" he said uncertainly.

"That sounds great! Potato chicken with dried red chili peppers on top of a bowl of hot steamy rice. How about that?" cap-man added ecstatically.

"That actually sounds nice."

"And we can boil those vegetables to put it on top of the chicken."

Roxas nodded happily.

"Okay now. I look forward to eating, little buddy," cap-man grinned and say down at the dining table, watching.

"Whoa, what? You're going to leave me here without parent's supervision?" Roxas joked.

"I'll always be here to supervise you, don't worry. Now, what you need to do is wash the chicken breast and cube it into small pieces. After that you have to stir fry the potato then the chicken. Add some flavor and the dried chili peppers. And..."

"Slow down! One at a time!"

--

"...how was it?" Roxas narrowed his eyes, expecting his word, whispering timidly, feeling like he wanted to crawl under the dining table.

Cap-man was eating the food slowly, chewing, and savoring the taste. Then, he swallowed and the blond gulped. "It's...really good! This is great!"

Roxas grinned brightly.

"For beginner!" Cap-man added.

And Roxas scoffed, hitting the man's arm lightly. "I would be happier without that last sentence," he blew raspberries.

Cap-man merely laughed. "Ignore it then!"

"Yeah, sure."

"You have such a hot blood. Chill!"

"Thanks," Roxas replied sarcastically.

"You're not eating?"

"To be honest... I don't even dare to... swallow the food I've cooked..." his voice was barely a whisper.

"You have to trust me. This is good. Even though there's a bit oil taste to it..."

"Well, I got panicked because I thought that the chicken might burn... and I wanna put a little more oil and then... I kinda put in... too much... Ya okay?"

"Ah, makes sense. There is no need to rush in the kitchen, little friend. Take it slow and everything will be alright."

"Really? That's not what I see in food shows."

"Ah, those food shows. They give very limited amount of time for a show. And they always add the intense part in it. To be honest, I don't really agree with all that. I mean, cooking is leisure. And it's a joy to be able to cook and eat your own dishes. And don't you think that it would be even more special that you cook for someone you love?" Cap-man smirked.

"Someone I love?" the blond frowned, repeating those words.

"Yeah, girlfriend. Boyfriend?"

"Ew... no no. I'm too young to be thinking about relationships."

"Too young?" Axel choked.

"I mean, there are a lot more that I have to do rather than dating and impressing someone. Honestly, I don't find that it's worth the time to... _do_ all that."

"Look at you, speaking like an adult!"

"Cap-man..." Roxas reprimanded.

"But honestly though. You're speaking like an old man. Like how your time is running out. There's a lot of time in the world, little dude and you still have a lot in front of you. Take a break sometimes. I promise you that it would be fun."

"Maybe sometimes..." the blond shrugged.

"Projects? Homework?"

"I've done all that I need to do for this week."

"Today's...Thursday. "

"Yeah, so I'm kinda free. Except for tomorrow and Saturday night. Since I have to work."

"We can hang out!"

"Wh...?!"

"Hey, I mean. We can be considered friends now right? We're already hanging out basically, why not?" Axel said easily.

"Are you serious? But why me?"

"Nah, you're just fun! And you're... a cute little boy!"

"You are a _freak_. But a good freak that's still... a weirdo..."

Cap-man laughed.

"And maybe a psyho..." Roxas showed a look of disbelieve.

"Come to think..." Cap-man's face grimaced, his emerald eyes narrowed into mere slits. "I do have to tell you," he whispered, getting closer to the blond. "That..." he paused.

"Don't!" Roxas snarled, grabbing the nearest kitchen knife.

"I have a fetish over kids... with blond hairs and blue eyes," Cap-man licked his lips to further prove his point. Then, he burst in laughter. "I'm just kidding. A kitchen knife is dangerous, kid."

Roxas dropped a sweat, laughing nervously. "E..hehe... Get. Out. Of. My. House," he narrowed his eyes.

"Huh? Hey, I was just kidding!"

"Get out!"

"B-but, it was a joke!"

Roxas pushed cap-man away and slammed the door right in front of the man's face. "And don't come back!" he shouted.

"Hey, I'm sorry!!!"

No answer.

"Well... that didn't go well..." Axel tapped his foot against the ground.

--

Roxas was finally home from school and work the next day and it was already midnight. He skateboarded home, dashing passed the road quickly, fearing that there might be something in the dark. He always hated going home late. The neighborhood he lived in was too quiet and it was located in small roads where hardly anyone passed by. And what was worse was that there was a cigarette and beer shop nearby, so that meant that a lot of bad people almost always gathered there.

When he had finally arrived, he breathed a sigh of relieve. His heart was still racing from all the fear and anticipation.

"Little friend!"

And he screamed.

"Hey! Keep it down!!!" his neighbor shouted.

"Sorry..." Roxas said quietly. "What are you doing here?" he whispered, hissing, annoyed.

"I was waiting for you," Cap-man said quietly.

"Huh? Since when?"

"Well, I was waiting this noon and you never came back... then I had to go at eight for work. And then came back here at ten. And I waited here ever since," cap-man grinned widely.

Roxas suddenly felt sorry for the man. And worse, he felt super guilty. "Would you to come in? Have some tea or soda?" he shrugged.

"Nah, it's okay. I'm tired and I have to work in the morning."

"What are you here for?" Roxas frowned.

"Oh, to apologize for yesterday. I was... really just kidding."

"Oh... that. Nah, it's okay," Roxas smiled.

"Really?"

"Yeah," the blond nodded. "Just... don't do it again?" he chuckled.

"Promise!"

The both laughed silently.

"Well, I have to go. Have a nice night, buddy."

"You too, Cap-man. Drive safely home."

"Will do! Don't worry about me."

Roxas chuckled again, waving. "Oh! By the way... my cooking yesterday... was not really bad,huh?"

Cap-man paused for a while before smiling. "It was fantastic."

Roxas flushed.

"See ya!"

And Cap-man disappeared. Roxas watched as the silver sedan sped away.

...

Then the blond shrug, taking up his skateboard, smiling. He fished out his keys from his pockets, opening the front door.

Spending time...wasn't really bad at all.

Well, that proved that he wasn't actually busy _all the time_.

No one actually does.

--

You are all the best! I'm sorry for any grammatical mistakes. :3 but you all are the best. Hehe.

Sorry, I haven't replied to your reviews yet. I'll reply them somewhere around midnight or tomorrow. I really appreciate all your thoughts.

Love.


	4. Familiarity

Man, I'm having a horrible, absolutely HORRIBLE stomach ache. –dies-

**Dedication: Tinuleaf**

**Note: **I have two reviews that cracked me up. By **Cirque du Lune**, "Adventure of Cap-man and his little friend." By **FinalFallenFantasy**, "It's against my religion to take off this cap." Man, you guys are Hi-larious! xD

And... d'aww, you guys are just too lovely. **Jellybeans-steh, mei lynn 64, **and **Insanecat6. **You know~ Thanks so much!

Enjoy!

**The Flavors of Life**

**Chapter 4**

**Familiarity**

After a tiring day of work on Saturday, Roxas was finally home by afternoon. And lo and behold, there was the person that he didn't expect—or more accurately, didn't want to be there standing at his front door. He released a small sigh as he caught his skateboard and held it firmly. "Hey, Cap-man," he greeted kindly, feeling in a rather good mood because Sunday was really the only day where he had no obligation that he had to work upon.

"Little friend! You're always so busy, huh?" Cap-man teased, grinning friendlily, standing up from where he was sitting.

"And you seem like you have nothing to do at all," the blond frowned the slightest bit, tilting his head to the side quizzically. "Come to think, what do you do for living?"

"Ehh..." Cap-man used his index finger to scratch his cheek.

Roxas grew suspicious. "You're certainly...older than me, right?" he asked, being wary. He simply couldn't accept the fact that somebody taller than him was younger than him. Certainly not. Height was a sensitive subject.

"No... I don't think so, you're twenty, right? I'm actually nineteen..." Cap-man cleared his throat, answering seriously. No humor was present in his tone.

The boy gasped, taking a step backwards. "_Wha...?!"_

"Just kidding, little dude. I'm twenty four," Axel grinned happily, amused by Roxas' expression. He patted the boy's head playfully.

"That is _not_ funny, Cap-man," the boy stuck out his tongue, ready to leave the man alone there in the cold.

"You still have no sense of humor. Relax, seriously. You're cuter that way."

Roxas paused suddenly, causing the man to bump into him when Axel was about to follow. "What did you just say?" he asked, hissing in a low tone.

"You're cute! Baby cute! Baby face. You're funny too, little friend. And you're actually a very interesting person, ya know!" Cap-man grinned happily, there was not even a single pause in his answer. And his confidence showed clearly through his expression.

"Uh huh?..." Roxas was all weirded out. Needless to say, he was quite flattered, but more freaked out.

"You don't trust me, do you? Oh well," Cap-man shrugged. "Okay, time to cook!" he smirked, lifting up the plastic bags he was holding on both of his hand.

Roxas groaned and rolled his eyes. But he smiled at last. It might be a good thing anyway for someone to keep an eye on him. He didn't trust himself enough to be able to stay long enough not to revert back to his old frozen food haven lifestyle.

There was something more that Roxas didn't trust about Cap-man. ...Never taking off his hat because of a promise? For real?... he wondered if the man was trying to fool him. Yet at the same time, he was afraid to doubt. He sure would feel really bad if the man was actually saying the truth. But who knew... a little distrust could go a long way.

--

Roxas had already planned to skip breakfast and lunch and merely sleep in during the day. However, his plan was ruined when noon was almost reached. He heard the bell ringing cheerfully from the front door. He groaned, putting a pillow over his head, trying to block the terrible noise out. But the bell rang louder, becoming more and more intense... and he growled, thrashing around, grabbing more pillows to keep the sound out.

And then, there was banging on the door.

And Roxas finally got up, screaming, "Coming!" he shouted from the top of his lungs, fully knowing that there was no one home beside him.

But the banging continued, seemingly determined to annoy the blond more.

"I said... _coming!_" he yelled, snarling.

Finally, the noises stopped. Roxas took his sweet time, falling back onto the bed, pulling the blanket up to his body and burying his head into his pillow, hugging one tightly, going back to a sweet slumber again.

"ROXAS!"

The blond pretended he didn't hear anything. That voice was disturbingly familiar.

Then it was his cell phone's turn to ring and vibrate wildly. Roxas took his cell phone, effectively turning it off.

And... the bell and banging came back again.

And then... there was a loud cracking noise... a loud boom and bang!

And Roxas immediately jolted up, cerulean eyes opened wide. He looked around, still half asleep.

Silence... nothing...

He went back to sleep again, clearing his sore throat a bit.

And there was a loud scream as he felt a heavy weight on top of him.

The peaceful noon was no longer there.

--

"I can't believe you destroy two doors in this house!" Roxas yelled, pulling his messy hair out.

Cap-man merely grinned innocently, not saying anything. But then, he finally decided to speak up for himself. "I thought you were dead inside. I sure didn't want to take the chances of having anything happened to my little friend!" he pulled the blond close, ruffling the soft, yet messy fluffy locks. He then buried his face inside those locks.

"Ew, hey! Stay away!" Roxas jumped two feet back, goosebumps bubbling up all over his body. "These doors! How can I explain them!" he looked helpfully to the only person beside him in the house.

"Ah, easy there. I can destroy them, I can pay for people to fix them. Relax," Cap-man sat down on the leather sofa calmly.

"Are you a hundred percent sure?"

"Make it two hundred."

"You're... freaky," Roxas whispered.

"Your hair actually looks great without all the gels."

"Yeah. Right?" the blond answered dully, rolling his eyes. "Are you going to stay here and make yourself home?" he frowned.

"Yes! Thank you for the invitation!" the Cap-man hopped into the kitchen without listening more to Roxas.

"That... wasn't an invitation!" the blond snapped.

--

And so, Roxas took a bath while letting Cap-man roamed freely around the house. The front door and the door to his room were completely busted. Luckily enough, from who knew where, Axel was able to find some freaky people to have them fixed, just within three hours. Shady people... Roxas remembered one called Xigbar with an eyepatch... and another called Luxord who held his deck of cards all day long.

What had he gotten himself into?

On the bright side, he was glad that Cap-man was taking responsibility for his own actions.

Roxas seriously couldn't concentrate on taking a bath at all. He took in a long, deep breathe and released it. He couldn't believe that Axel had actually jumped on him—jumped on his bed. That was... _wrong!_ So wrong...

"He's whacked...' he narrowed his eyes, feeling the warm water gently hit his face. "Wait... whacked?" he frowned, feeling some sort of realization hitting him. It felt... too disturbingly familiar. He said something like that before, didn't he? He did... but when.

He swallowed, staring blankly at the bathroom wall in front of him, absently grabbing his shampoo.

"_All you have to do is use your feelings! Your instinct! Use your soul and cook!"_

"_This guy's whacked... What is this show?"_

Roxas' eyes went wide and he dropped the bottle of shampoo he was holding, hitting his own toes. "Ow!" he hissed, jumping around, then finally sitting down on the bathtub, rubbing his sore toe. But he was too occupied to worry about the pain. "What was his name again...? That dude in the show..." he tried to recall, but he couldn't.

"Seriously?! That couldn't be possible..." he kept muttering to himself.

The Cap-man just right inside his kitchen was... actually a chef with a TV show of his own?

...

--

Something smelled really good once Roxas was finally done and out of the bathroom. Pastry? Cake? The scent was amazing, so sweet and fresh. He threw his towel away carelessly on his bed and walked over to the kitchen. And there he was, the Cap-man, wearing a cooking mitten and apron and...obviously, a cap. Putting down a baking pan on the counter.

"You're baking?" Roxas grinned excitedly.

Axel though, was shocked by Roxas' expression. "Uh.. yeah? I thought you'd like it."

"You're baking?!" the blond cheered, seemingly about to jump up and down but was hesitating to do so.

"Uh, huh... Yeah, I'm... uh, little friend?" Cap-man called out slowly, waving a hand in front of Roxas' face. "Are you there? Hello?" he waved again, but Roxas wasn't listening to him at all.

"Banana Nut bread?!" Roxas chirped.

"Uhm, no, not exactly. I forgot about the nut component. It's actually just banana bread. And this is actually my first attempt to..."

"Can we cut it? _Now?!_" the blond was completely not listening. That was as much as Axel knew right now. However, seeing the excited expression on Roxas' usually cold face was... humoring and highly amusing... actually no, Cap-man actually thought that the blond was the most adorable thing he had ever seen.

"It's still hot... we should wait for a while?" Cap-man answered, grinning awkwardly, not really wanting to turn the blond down.

Roxas instantly pouted and showed Cap-man an adorable puppy dog eyes.

"Okay! Let's cut it now!" Axel laughed, immediately grabbing the knife, cutting the banana bread.

--

"That was...amazing!" Roxas spoke, licking his lips. "I can't eat anymore..." he whispered, sighing happily, taking the napkin to wipe his mouth.

"Don't worry, it's not going anywhere," Cap-man commented teasingly.

The both were sitting across one another on the small, round dining table in Roxas' kitchen.

"I didn't know you like banana bread that much."

"It's been years since I had it," Roxas smiled, biting his upper lip. "It's my favorite food, but it's really hard to find one around here."

"I thought..."

"No, store bought ones are different. They're not as fresh anymore, you know. I love to eat it when it's hot. And it's just so perfect! With walnuts or almonds, I'm sure it will be amazing."

For a while there, Cap-man actually thought that some ghostly being had possessed his little friend. He chuckled lightly. "I would never have guessed that someone who eats frozen foods most of the time would know anything about food."

Roxas pouted. "Of course I know. Of course I do," he nodded and his face grimaced for a bit.

"Looks like you're not letting out a lot. Is there something you're keeping from me?" Axel smirked knowingly, trying to press the blond for answer yet at the same time conveying that he was not really serious about it.

"You're great in both cooking and baking," Roxas spoke, completely shrugging off Cap-man's comment.

"That was actually my first time in baking."

"Seriously?!"

"Yeah. I thought I'd try something new since I've been cooking for years. I'm really glad you liked it. Means a lot to me," Cap-man smiled, his eyes boring deep into the blond's cerulean.

"Maybe I should try baking too. I might be able to bake banana bread for myself."

"No!"

"Huh?"

"No, no, you shouldn't learn baking. You should stick to cooking."

"Why is that?..."

"Because!" Cap-man paused, unable to form any kind of excuses. "Well, I don't want you to go back to your frozen food lifestyle. As a student, your priority should be cooking, right?"

"You're right. I'll just stick to cooking for now. And then you can decide when I'll be able to take care of myself. Then you can teach me how to bake."

Cap-man grinned. "Sure thing, little dude. Cooking comes from the soul. Use your feelings and instinct! I'm sure you'll master it in no time."

The blond rose his eyebrows. He heard that somewhere before...

"Until then, I will be honored to bake for you," Cap-man added, snapping Roxas out of his thoughts.

Roxas blushed. "Okay, you're creepy..." he commented timidly. "Have you eaten anything?"

"Me? Hum, no, not really."

"Great. I actually found this one recipe online last night. Some kind of peanut butter spaghetti. You can always wait patiently while I cook," the blond smiled confidently.

"I'm waiting!"

--

The peanut butter spaghetti turned out surprisingly well even though it was a bit dry. Cap-man and his little friend had a nice lunch. However, cap-man had to go after the lunch.

After the man was out of his house, Roxas cleaned up the kitchen for a while. It was not really messy because Cap-man had helped him clean. The blond holed himself up in his room, tuning in on the cooking channel, watching every show closely, never flicking the channel away. He was determined to find out.

No matter how crazy it sounded...

Even though it was pretty crazy in its own sense that they never knew each other's name... but had become acquaintances.

He was pretty sure that the Cap-man was not letting out as much as he should.

Cap-man... should be that chef... that one chef whose name escaped his head.

There was a simple reason.

Those two were whacked in the head.

And they were too familiar.

And Roxas never believed in coincidences.

Even though he was not completely confident or even... convinced with his own thoughts.

--

Banana bread is so easy to make and the result is amazing, lol. X3 I've baked several times and banana bread is my only successful attempt so far. Haha. And I followed the recipe on the Safeway's All Purpose Flour package. But of course, I cut out some ingredients that aren't needed. I don't even need a whisk. That's what so cool about it. Yeah, I love it and my sis absolutely loves it. Haha, and the peanut butter spaghetti.. it's actually really nice that I've been cooking a lot lately. It makes it easier for me to write this fic. :3 At least it's not groundless. Anyway, yeah, I'm rambling. Sorry.

Hope ya enjoyed!

Love.


	5. Discovering

**Dedication: Tinuleaf**

**Note: **Another hilarious reviews! By **SkyeFlyte **"Cap-man! Capable of smashing through a college student's doors uninvited!" LOL. xD Great one there. xD and by **Jellybeans-steh, **"Cap-man is like totally CRAZE! Hey, let's slam doors down to make sure Roxy isn't dead! HIYA! *crashes door*" LOL, for some strange reason, I can completely imagine Axel going all sorts of karate and kung fu on the door. You go, Cap-man! Man, you guys' reviews are all amazing! They've brightened my day immensely. xD

**Special Thanks: **To **Insanecat6**, seriously.. I'd be putting up a plothole for myself if it hadn't been for her. Thanks so much for your attentiveness! –loves-

**Hello: **Yo, anon reviewer! xD I wonder who you are. Lol. Okay, just saying hello. :3 Thank you!

On a random note, having a laptop to move around is FUN! xD but my legs are burning. –dies- haha, it's my sis' old laptop and it's mine now! Mwahahahaha!

Enjoy!

**The Flavors of Life**

**Chapter 5**

**Discovering**

Roxas was sitting on his bed with a laptop in front of him. Once in a while, he would take the cup that was set on his table and drank the content—which was really nothing, but plain water. He was doing his homework. And it seemed that it was going really well since he didn't stop typing since two hours ago. The TV was on all day, but Roxas hadn't seen that one particular show that he was searching for—that one particular show which name escaped his head.

He would frequently shift his attention to the TV once in a while, to see if a new show was on. He would watch a show once in a while about cooking. Cooking easy, under thirty minutes, under fifteen minutes even, or a cooking competition, show-off... he frowned for a bit. Since when did cooking became such an important and intense activity? People were competing against one another in order to gain some title and a huge amount of money. That was certainly neat.

Nine o'clock, the advertisements rolled off and a new, unknown show was about to start. Roxas put his laptop aside and sat with his back against the wall, hugging a pillow for comfort while holding his cup, slowly drinking the cold water.

"Welcome back in _Cooking Ezy_ with me, Axel."

Roxas choked, all the content of the water that was in his mouth burst out instantly, wetting his blanket. "_What?!"_ he screamed.

Axel was, surprisingly, not wearing any chef's hat or anything to conceal his hair today. That hair... it was insane. Spiking everywhere like crazy...red, bright crimson as if it never recovered from electric shocked. But it looked so silky even though there was a little hint of gel. Roxas knew because he used gels himself. And that grin, that smile... that was definitely him. Cap-man...

The blond took in a deep breath.

That... that lowly superhero.

That cheater!

That fake person!

That _liar!_

But really though?... Well, the easiest way to find out was to get Cap-man to take off that cap. He would know for sure. He had never seen hair like that before.

Roxas crawled closer to the TV, as if wanting to go inside the TV himself to strangle the redhead with all the anger that was gathering up in the pit of his stomach. However, all he really wanted to do was look at those eyes. He felt like... a super-stalker right now...

But those eyes, bright jade, emerald. He was not wrong, was he? Cap-man's eyes were also emerald.

...was it really?

Roxas didn't really take notice of them.

--

The blond stared at Cap-man suspiciously the entire time. Two weeks had passed since that shocking revelation—which wasn't really so shocking at all now that Roxas thought about it with a clear head. Cap-man, of course, noticed the sudden change in his little friend's impression of him. He wondered what was wrong, but never voiced out his concern.

Axel kept trying baking new kinds of cake and brought it to his little friend. He loved seeing the happy expression on the blond's face. It was completely unexpected and rare and he was excited that he could be the one to bring out that kind of emotion on the boy's face.

"Salt, pepper, sugar, and spice..." Roxas muttered while thinking out what he would cook for the day. His curiosity about who the cap-man really was had wavered from his thoughts. They never exchanged names and they were mere acquaintances. He really didn't see any point even if he found out that he was right. "Hummm..." the blond tapped his fingers against his chin thoughtfully.

"Let's make tacos," Cap-man suggested easily.

"You know, I don't really want to cook for the day. Let's eat out," Roxas said, sitting back at the dining table, sighing.

"You okay, little blond?"

"Tiring week, I haven't been having enough sleep," he buried his face in between his arms, resting on the wooden table.

Axel smirked. "I'll cook then."

"Nice!" the blond cheered up almost immediately. It was always nice to have someone cook for him.

--

"You know. Sugar is sweet."

"Huh?" Roxas narrowed his eyes, shifting in his seat to get a better look at the cooking cap-man.

"Once you think of it, don't you think ingredients and spices resembled our lives?"

"Are you being creepy?" the blond blinked profusely, wondering what cap-man was trying to say. "Or... are you mocking superhero?"

Axel merely grinned. "Mocking superhero. Since I am cap-man and all, I have some wise words for you."

"This oughta be nice."

"When you're happy or when you're unhappy, don't you think you crave sugar?"

"...Maybe?"

"Why?" the man grinned.

"I don't know, because we sought happiness, I guess? Sugar heightens our moods?"

"That's right. But food really isn't a way to escape dilemmas or problems. Food isn't a last resort. Food is leisure."

"You've said that before," Roxas commented.

"Yeah. Food is nutrition. It's essential for survival. The flavors and the very essence of food itself... Food resembles life in many ways."

"I don't quite get you..." Roxas said truthfully.

"It's the flavors of life."

"This is getting weird..." the blond shook his head, wondering if he should understand what the cap-man was trying to tell him.

"You'll understand someday," Axel said easily as he stir-fried the pan of chicken. A drop of sweat could be seen trickling down his temple from the heat.

"What are you thinking, Chef?"

"Huh?" Axel turned off the electric stove as the chicken was already well seasoned and was ready to serve. He took off his apron and stared at the blond.

"Axel? From Cooking Ezy?" Roxas inquired, tilting his head to the side, smiling.

"You knew?"

The blond chuckled, grinning cheerfully. "There are strands of red hair peeking out from your cap. I've been watching."

Axel was taken aback, staring at the cerulean eyes in front of him, wide eyed.

"Who's the psycho now? Surprised?" Roxas was obviously amused and happy that he was finally able to get back at Cap-man. He stepped forward as he backed the redhead to a wall.

"...So now you...know?" Axel grinned awkwardly.

"No denial?"

"Don't think I need one," Cap-man shrugged.

Roxas put his hands at his hips. "I think proper introduction is necessary, Cap-man."

"Fine," Cap-man took off his cap and crazy red hairs immediately popped out from their hiding. "I'm Axel, Roxas."

"Wha...!"

"You shouldn't be surprised that I know your name, considering that you've let me freely roam inside your house for weeks now. Besides, don't you remember? I did yell your name outside of your house a couple of weeks ago."

Roxas' jaw dropped wide. Did Cap-man really?! REALLY?!

...

Yes, he did... Roxas didn't notice. How could he forget such an important little detail? He narrowed his eyes dangerously. "Ok, _out!_" he yelled.

"Huh?"

"Out of my house! You liar, you stalker, you... you psycho! You... you _ass!_ Out of my house and don't come back again!" the blond yelled, furious and embarrassed.

Axel's face was painted with shock—as shocked as his hair. "But, your mail was lying around and..."

"You've stepped all over my privacy and now you still have something to say?" the blond hissed dangerously. "_Out_."

"Roxassssss, c'mon," the redhead pleaded, still holding his cap while the blond gathered all the power he needed to push the man out of the door.

"Good bye," The blond spat as he slammed the door in front of the redhead's face.

--

There were a couple of weeks of persistence going on. Axel kept visiting, but still with his cap on. Roxas kept persisting not to open the door for the redhead, determined no matter how badly he felt. He knew that he shouldn't have acted so exaggeratedly. But he doubted about his well being.

"Roxas..." the redhead sighed, calling out for the blond, expecting for the boy to ignore him like he did in the previous weeks.

"Axel..." it was Roxas' turn to sigh.

"Huh?" Cap-man cheered up immensely.

"Why are you not giving up?" the blond questioned, confused and baffled.

"Why should I?" Axel questioned back, almost as confused.

"You're a TV star. Everybody loves watching you. Why are you here? You should be in the studio, recording your cooking show or something. Why waste time with me? I don't understand."

"Oh..." Axel nodded, finally understanding the question. "You're my friend."

"No, you don't understand. You're popular. You can have all the friends you want. You really don't have the obligation to be stuck with some... university student like me, you know. Axel, I know some of my friends who are crazy about you and your show. But me? I don't care at all. You don't need someone like..."

"You are my friend, Roxas," cap-man interrupted, voice loud and clear.

"We may be friends. But you deserve better than me."

There was an awkward silence. Axel merely shook his head, narrowing his eyes in disbelieve. Roxas hung his head low. He really couldn't find any reason behind Axel's action. Why him? There were plenty of other people out there who were better than him. Why teach him how to cook? Why bake for him? Friends? That was not reason enough. It was not at all an adequate reason in Roxas' scientific mind.

The redhead took off his cap. His cat like emerald eyes bore deep into Roxas' confused ones. "Why do you think I wear this cap?"

"What?"

"Why do you think I conceal my identity?"

"... because you want to fool around?" Roxas guessed.

"Too many people I know has left me because of my job—because of my passion for food and cooking," Axel commented. Roxas had never seen cap-man so serious before. He grinned and laughed then. "Well, it is true that it was a bit exaggerated. But I haven experienced it once before. And I thought I would be wrong about you. I've been proven wrong. Thanks, Roxas," he smiled weakly.

"What? Wait, no..."

"You're right, I shouldn't have showed up in front of you again... I'm sorry for all the commotion I've caused you."

"Axel!"

"Take care until then."

Roxas was unable to stop the Cap-man. The car sped away, not even waiting for him.

Cap-man was gone. And this time, Axel sounded like he meant it...

The blond didn't know how he should feel.

He was merely voicing his thoughts. He never thought that it would turn out this way.

And for a month long, life had been progressing rather well. Roxas had completely dropped his frozen-food lifestyle and he had even learned a couple of tricks on cooking quickly and easily.

However, he had no way of reaching the redhead. Axel seemed to have changed his phone number since it was no longer contactable. And Roxas avoided the redhead's show on TV.

It was until a while later that Roxas finally saw the familiar figure again, waiting for him right in front of his front door. He took in a deep breath.

...ready to apologize.

--

Oh well well well.

We'll see how this will go in the next chapter.

Hope you enjoyed.

Love.


End file.
